Tuesday, December 12, 2006
Corner Flags and Freekicks
In todays news, Alan Pardew has been sacked as the manager of West Ham. They say, 'Alan has made an important contribution since joining as manager in September 2003 but this season's results have been disappointing and have left the club in a very difficult position.' While this is all good and fine (West ham currently lie 3rd last in the league), lets take a look at the arrivals of Carlos Tevez and Javier Mascherano, and whether (if any) it had any effect on West Ham's current predicament.
A surprise move back in September saw the pair move from Corinthians, after they had both enjoyed a reasonably successful World Cup. Alan Pardew said, " As a team manager I want to work with the best players in the world...I think these guys are going to take us forward. I thought it was a fantastic move for us, to take us to the next level -- let's accept it for what it is."
Let's look at the facts. West Ham started the season with a 3-1 win over Charlton (now at the bottom of the table), following that with a 1-1 draw with Watford, and a 2-1 loss to Liverpool. It seemed like the signings would have been great, especially given the possibility of a starting lineup that included Yossie Benayoun, Lee Bowyer, Nigel Reo-Coker, Carlos Tevez, Javier Mascherano and Bobby Zamora/Marlon Harewood. Definitely a good midfield and frontline right? Well West Ham drew their next game 1-1 with Aston Villa, with Tevez making his first appearance as a sub, with Mascherano unused. Then the trouble began. West Ham proceeded to lose their next 8 games, of which only the 2-1 lost to Chesterfield being played without Tevez or Mascherano getting any game time. That was also the only goal they scored in those 8 games. West Ham then had a minor recovery, beating Blackburn 2-1, and Arsenal 1-0. Neither Tevez nor Mascherano played in those 2 games. They have since gone on to lose 5 of their next 6 games, only managing to beat newly promoted Sheffield United 1-0, this coincidentally being their only goal.
Lets summarise. In 6 EPL games played without Tevez and Mascherano playing in any capacity, West Ham have scored 9 goals, conceded 6, and gathered 11 points with 3 wins, 2 draws and a loss. In 11 EPL games played with Tevez and Mascherano playing, either as a starter or a sub, West Ham have scored 1 goal, conceded 18, and gathered 3 points, with 1 win and 10 losses. They also featured in a 4-0 aggregate loss over 2 legs to Palermo in the UEFA cup. Woah.
West Ham, on paper, definitely have the quality to finish in the top half of the league. Maybe a better manager would be able to get some results. Maybe Tevez and Mascherano will prove their worth, as Tevez seems to be improving in recent games. But consider the facts.. maybe Alan Pardew was forced to include his new signings, and was unable to play his best 11 due to some contractual obligation. Or maybe its some sort of Argentinian jinx. Only time will tell.
or so it seems, at 1:01 AM
